title: EU-wide survey of polar organic persistent pollutants in European river waters.
abstract: This study provides the first EU-wide reconnaissance of the occurrence of polar organic persistent pollutants in European river waters. More than 100 individual water samples from over 100 European rivers from 27 European Countries were analysed for 35 selected compounds, comprising pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PFOS, PFOA, benzotriazoles, hormones, and endocrine disrupters. Around 40 laboratories participated in this sampling exercise. The most frequently and at the highest concentration levels detected compounds were benzotriazole, caffeine, carbamazepine, tolyltriazole, and nonylphenoxy acetic acid (NPE(1)C). Only about 10% of the river water samples analysed could be classified as "very clean" in terms of chemical pollution. The rivers responsible for the major aqueous emissions of PFOS and PFOA from the European Continent could be identified. For the target compounds chosen, we are proposing "indicative warning levels" in surface waters, which are (for most compounds) close to the 90th percentile of all water samples analysed.
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via Enrico Fermi, 21020 Ispra, Italy. robert.loos@jrc.it
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Loos
authors.forename: Bernd Manfred
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Gawlik
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Locoro
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rimaviciute
authors.forename: Serafino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Contini
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bidoglio
mesh_terms: D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005062:European Union; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction / Q000379:methods; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical